Rail anchor



lwwullllll x MIIIIIII July 9, 1929 G. L. MOORE ET Al.l ,1,720,087

L RAIL ANCHOR I Filed Sept. 23, 1927 Patented July 9,1929. l j y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

GEORGE LOOP MOORE AND JAMES ROBERT STEELE, OF OWEGO, NEW YORK.

RAIL ANCHOR.

Application led September 23, 1927. Serial No. 221.479.

Our invention relates to anchoring or anticreeper device in its gripping position after creeper devices, and particularly to the antithe key member has been driven; 55 Creeper devices for railroad rails which ex- Fig. 4 is an end view of the device shown tend beneath the rail base, gripping same in Fig. 3 with a key having legs of unequal 5 and so positioned as to -coact with a tie of length;

the trackway to check the creeping tendency Fig. 5 is a plan view of the key member;

of the rail. Fig. 6`is a longitudinal cross section of 60 In our present lnvent-ion the yoke is prefthe key member; and, erably a bar of rectangular cross section, F 1g. 7 is `an end view of a modified form l0 shaped by forging or bending. The key of key member with legs of equal length.

member is preferably formed from a rolled Referring to the drawings: 8 indicates a channel shaped bar with at least one dependrail and y9 a tie of a railroad trackway. 1() 65 ing leg extending beneath the transverse unis the yoke member and 11 is the key memder rail portion of the yoke when in operaber of our anti-Creeper device. rlhe yoke 10 l5 tive position. comprises a transverse-under rail portion 12 Our invention has for one of its objects the and inturncd hook end portions 13 Vand 14,

provision of an improved anti-Creeper which respectively. The yoke is preferably formed is easily applied to the rail base and eflifrom a bar of rectangular cross section bar,

:ien-tly grips same to check .the creeping tendshaped by forging or bending. The key ency of the rail. member 11 is preferably formed from a A further object of our invention is to rolled channel shaped bar which is shear-ed provide an improved anti-Creeper, the yoke to length to provide individual keys. 75

of which is made preferably from a bar of The portion 12 of the yoke is spaced sulfiuniform cross sect-ion, shaped by forging or ciently below the rail base to provide a clear'- bending thus eliminating waste in manufacance and room for the reception of the key ture. member' 11, and, for further clearance in A further object of our invention is to ,applying the yoke transversely to the vrail provide an improved anti-Creeper comprisbase. ing a yoke member and a key member in To this end, `the interior or clearance space 3o which the key is formed with a depending is preferably extended outwardly and. downleg extending beyond the under rail portion wardly below the hook portion 13 as desig- -of the yoke whereby the key is brought to nated by the numeral 15 in Fig. 3. and thus S5 bear directly against the side face of the tie allows this end to engage over the rail base, when in operative position. first by tilting the yoke yand then shifting it A further object of our improved invenlaterally on to the rail' in the manner which tion is the provision of a two-piece anchor will be readily understood from Fig. 1.

having a yoke member and a key member The hook end 14 is then raised vertically ou which extends downwardly beyond the yoke' until the underside of .the hook is coplanar member whereby the hammering action of With the upper surface of the yrail base. The f the anchor against the ballast ofthe road yoke is then moved towards the left into its '.bed will be imparted directly to the rail position, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Beneath through the key. the hook end 14 is provided an abutment face The novel features of our invention will be 16 to bear solidly against the edge 0f the more fully understood from the following rail base and serves to limit the movement description and claims taken with the drawof the yoke towards the left, transversely ings, in which: with respect to the rail, In this position of Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our antithe yoke, the upper edge of the portion 12 is 100 creeper device in position to be applied to substantially parallel with the bottom of the the rail base; rail base for the major portion of its length.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of our anti- This upper edge is provided with one or creeper device in its loose position on the more protuberancesor projections 17 for the rail base; purpose hereinafter described.

Fig. 3 is side elevation of our anti- The key member l1 comprlses a web por.

tion 18 having depending longitudinal leg portions 19 and 19 formed at the marginal edges thereof. The web portion 18 of the key member 11 has formed on its under surface one or more ways 2O which are inclined in its longitudinal direction, the number of such ways depending upon the number of protuberances l? formed on the yoke with which they are adapted to engage. The inclined ways 20, as shown on the drawings, are formed by deforming the web portion 18 between dies or other suitable means well known to the art of metal working. `The leg portions 19 and 19 are shown in Figs. 1

' to 6, inclusive, to be of unequal depth; the

portion 19 being of sufficient depth to extend below the bottom of the yoke member. Said leg portions are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the yoke member and when the anti-Creeper device is'in operative engagement with the rail base they constitute rigid retaining members which engage the sides of the yoke to prevent lateral relative movement. between the latter; and the key. The leg portion 19 constitutes a tie abutting member of substantial size. A closed end slot 21 is formed in the web portion 18 of the key member' at a point somewhatbeyond the transverse centil) ter line and extends along the key member but terminates at a point short of the end thereof for the reception of the yoke member 10. Y

Preparatory to applying our device to the rail base, the key 11 is assembled onfthe yoke in the position shown in Fig. 1 in the manner set forth in co-pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 122,533 filed July 15, 1926. The hook end 14 of the yoke is deformed as at 14, to increase the thickness thereof at that point so as to prevent the removal of the key from the yoke` at that end. The yoke is mounted on the rail base in the manner previously described, to its position shown in Fig. 2, andv is moved longitudinally of the' rail bringing the key into contact with the tie 9, as shown in Fig. 4. In this initial position of the device, it will be seen by referring to Fig.v 2 that the .pro-

tuberances 17 are disposed atthe top of the inclined ways 2O and the key is in its lowermost horizontal position with respect to the plane of the bottom of the rail and in this position provides' a clearance indicated by the numeral 22, between the latter and the upper surface of the key member. In consequence of such clearance, the device is adaptable to fit railshaving different base flange thickness and widths. The extending end of the key is conveniently placed so that it may be struck by a hammer or other implement suitableY for the purpose of driving the key transversely of the rail and longitudinally of the yoke.

"gAsthe keyzis Ydriven transversely of the rail, the abutment face 16 of the yoke bears solidly against the edge of the rail base and prevents the movement of the yoke transversely of the rail. As the key moves longitudinally on the yoke, it is positively guided by the depending leg portions 19 and 19, and the inclined ways V20 engaging the protuberances 17 cause the key to be raised in right lines upwardly so that. the upper surface of same is maintained parallel with respect to the bottom surface of the rail base. T he key is forced into contact with the latter and causes the device to firmly grip the rail. .lt will be seen that the key member is of considerableV length, compared with the length of the under rail portion 12, and when our device effectively engages `the rail, the key extends almost entirely across the bottom of the rail and imparts thereto an upward bearing pressure which is uniformly distributed and secures a strong gripping act-ion on the rail and allows the full length of the lkey to bear against the tie and provides a substantial bearing surface to coact with the tie to effectively check any further creeping tendency of the rail.

By referring to Fig. 5 it will be noted that the legs 19 and 19 extend beyond the end of the web portion 18Ly This extension is sufficient so that when the anchor is in its effective position, as shown in Fig. 3, ,the ends of the legs are preferably-flush or eX- tend beyond the contiguous edge of the rail flange. This extension serves thepurpose of a gage and indicates to the trackman that the key member 11 has been driven to its effective position with respect to the yoke" and the rail.

Referring to Fig. 7 we show a key member having the depending legs 19 and 19 of equal. length. lVith a key of this type, either of the legs constitutes a tie abutting member. Thus our device may be effectively applied to the rail at either side thereof andateither side of t-he tie.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that We have devised an improved anticreeper, which is rigid in construction, is easily applied to the rail base and efficiently grips same to check the creeping tendency of the rail. The yoke member formed of a continuous bar and bent or forged to shape provides greater' bearing surface in contact with the top of the rail base, and eliminates waste in manufacture. The key member, by the increased depth of a depending leg affords greater bearing surface in Contact with the side face of a tie in directions Aboth -ltnigitudinally and vertically of the same,

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and yoke. Furthermore, the key member is extended beyond the rail base and is. accessible to the track operator so that it is conveniently driven without the use of special tools.

A device constructed in accordance with our invention has many advantages over the so-called one-piece anti-Creeper, for instance, a single piece device becomes ineffectitve when the rail to which it is applied becomes worn or corroded and must be replaced, whereas, a device employing our invention may be rendered just as effective as when originally applied to the rail by merely driving the key member with any suitable implement which may be at hand. Thus a track walker observing a loose anti-creeper embodying our invention may easily place it in an effective condition without replacements or the use of special driving tools.

lVhile we have shown our invention in but two forms it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An anti-Creeper comprising a yoke having hooked ends to engage the upper surface of the base flange of a rail; and an under rail portion in spaced relation with respect to the bottom of the rail, one or more protuberances projecting upwardly from said portion, a key having a relatively large bearing surface for engaging the under sui'- face of the rail base, and one or more inclined ways formed on said key adapted to engage said protuberances, said key having one or more depending members extending below said yoke when the anti-Creeper is mounted in its operative position on the rail.

2. An anti-Creeper for rails comprisinga yoke, a key extending longitudinally of said yoke and having a closed end slot to receive the yoke, and members depending from said key for engaging the sides of said yoke, one of said depending members extending below said yoke when in operative position on the rail.

3. An anti-Creeper device comprising a yoke having an under rail portion and hooked ends thereof to be adapted to engage t-he base of a rail, and a key adapted to rest on said portion and project below the underside of said yoke.

t. An anti-Creeper for rails comprising a yoke having an under rail portion, and a key member having a closed slot formed therein receptive of said yoke, said key being of such a length that it extends beyond the edge of the rail base and of a depth at least equal to the under rail portion of said yoke.

5. An anti-Creeper for rails comprising a yoke with hooked ends, and ay key, said key having an opening formed therein receptive of 'one -of said hooked lends, one of said hooked ends being deformed to prevent the removal of the key from the yoke at t-he last mentioned hooked end.

6. An anti-Creeper for rails, a yoke having hooked ends and an under rail portion, a projection extending from said under rail portion, a key member adapted to rest on a said projection and having an inclined way adapted to coact with said projection to raise said key when the latter is moved longitudinally, said key having depending side legs one longer than the other, said long leg forming a tie abutting member.

7. In an anti-creeper for rails, a key comprising a web portion having a protuberance constituting an inclined way and having a certain portion of its length removed tol constitute an elongated slot, and leg portions extending downwardly from said web portion one of said legs being longer than the other.

8. An anti-Creeper for rails,-comprising a yoke adapted to extend beneath the rail and having hooked ends thereof extending inwardly over the base of the rail, and a key member adapted to be driven between said yoke and the bottom of the rail, said key member being of such a length that upward bearing pressure is applied to the bottom of the rail across substantially the entire width of its base flange when in its operative position, said key having depending leg portions extending substantially the full length-of the key and at least one leg adapted to abut a tie and to project below said yoke when in operative position on the rail.

9. An anti-Creeper for rails comprising a yoke having hooked ends and an under rail portion, one or more protuberances formed on said portion, a key member hav ing a closed slot receptive of one of the hooked ends aforesaid, the lat-ter end being deformed to prevent the removal of the key member therefrom, one or more inclined ways formed on said key for engaging said protuberances, and one or more tie abutting members, said abutting member extending below said vunder rail portion, said yoke being free of tie engagement when in operative position on the rail.

10. In a railway track struct-ure the combination of a' foundation, a tie resting on said foundation, a rail supported on said tiean anchoring device comprising a member engaging said rail, but disposed in spaced relation with respect to the underside of the rail base and a key interposed between said .member and the underside of the rztil bzise having a portion thereof extending below Seid member whereby the forces imposed on said device by its pounding on seid foundation will be transmitted through the key directly to the rail.

1l. An anchoring device comprising e member, and a. key member adapted to y' strziddle l(rnd to be moved longitudinally of said member and having u. portion thereof 10 extending` downwardly beyond the underside of seid member.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures.

GEORGE LOOP MOORE. JAMES ROBERT STEELE. 

